The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

This photo comes from Phnom Kulen, Cambodia. Phnom Kulen is a sacred mountain about 50 kilometers outside of Siem Reap. Ryan (my travel companion) and I hired moto drivers to take us here on March 5, 2008. Compared to nearby Angkor Wat (which we toured the previous day), Phnom Kulen is largely overlooked by tourists. Only a few locals happened to be visiting that day making Ryan and I the only barangs on the whole mountain.

The best light for outdoor photography happens at dawn and dusk. The challenge of any trip where one is constantly on the move is making great photographs all day long in the harshest of light. While traveling through Vietnam and Cambodia, I did not have the luxury of waiting for sunset at every spot that might make a compelling image. For photos in the middle of the day I used a circular polarizing filter. The polarizer works like a pair of sunglasses and allows the camera to see blue skies and clouds at high noon. Usually these mid-day conditions blow the sky out to white blah on my Nikon D40. Rotating the circular polarizer also helped me tweak the way the surrounding foliage and water looked.

To get the water to move I set the camera to shutter priority. The trick is to use a long shutter speed without overexposing the photo. This particular shot used a 1.3 second exposure at f/25. To keep the camera still I fired the shutter using an IR remote with the D40 mounted on a little flexible tripod my brother gave me for Christmas. I wrapped the legs of the tripod around a jagged rock. Over the course of 30 minutes or so I experimented with different settings and angles. I took several dozen pictures while locals splashed around in the waterfall. Right when I finally nailed the settings to get the look I wanted, the locals dispersed and this beautiful little Khmer girl wandered into the frame. It is unlikely that she knew I was taking her picture as I was about 100 feet away under a tree and obscured by branches. She sat perfectly still for a moment or two and I grabbed a handful of shots. I felt a surge of adrenaline after reviewing the first few images on the LCD; I knew I stumbled onto something good. As quickly as this lucky photograph framed itself, it was over. The girl started walking around and a few more locals waded into the water.

Here are the details… Nikon D40 and Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor D 18-200 mm f/3.5 – 5.6G DX ED IF VR at 35mm. 1.3 sec. @ f/25. ISO 200.

Update 3/18/2009: More photos from my Vietnam/Cambodia trip can be seen on Flickr (slideshow).